Nail



19 69 H. L. MATTHEWS 3,433,790

NAIL

Filed June 14, 1968 United States Patent 3,483,790 NAIL Herbert L. Matthews, 3384 Cardiif Place, Victoria, British Columbia, Canada Filed June 14, 1968, Ser. No. 737,210 Claims priority, application Canada, Mar. 6, 1968,

Int. (:1. 1 16b 15/02 US. Cl. 85-28 5 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A nail formed with an elongated shank having a pointed end, and a pair of flexible arms integral with the shank. In their relaxed condition, the arms flare outwardly from the other end of the shank for holding a plaster board against a wall or ceiling frame member. The arms can be flexed to a compressed condition in which they form a straight line extension of the shank for inserting the nail in the plaster board and frame member.

This invention relates to a nail, and in particular to a nail for fastening plaster board to a frame member.

Conventionally, the interior walls and ceilings of dwellings are finished with plaster board panels, such as those sold under the name Gyproc (a Domtar Limited registered trademark for wall boards, plaster boards, etc.) and consisting of a layer of plaster sandwiched between two sheets of heavy paper or cardboard. In accordance with one common method, plaster board panels are attached to frame members, usually tWo-by-fours, by large headed nails which are driven into the plaster board panels to depress the outer skin. The depression created by the head of the nail is filled with a filling compound prior to painting.

It has been found that after the filling compound has dried it is often subject to cracking or bubbling, that is, the filler swells out of the depression resulting in unsightly walls which require refinishing.

The object of the present invention is to provide a nail which can be used effectively to attach materials such as wallboard panels to dwelling frame members without the need for subsequent major finishing or refinishing operations.

Accordingly, the invention relates to a nail comprising an elongated shank, a sharpened point on one end of said shank, and a pair of flexible arms integral with said shank, said arms having a relaxed condition in which they flare outwardly from the other end of said shank, said arms being resiliently bendable to a compressed condition in which they together form a substantially straight line extension of said shank.

A preferred embodiment of the invention will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings, wherein:

FIGURE 1 is a side view of a nail in accordance with the present invention, the nail being in its relaxed condition;

FIGURE 2 is a side view of the nail of FIGURE 1, with its arms held in their compressed condition;

FIGURE 3 is a top plan view of the nail of FIGURE 2; and

FIGURE 4 is a cross section of a portion of a wall showing the nail of FIGURES 1 to 3 in use.

Referring to the drawings, the nail of the present invention, generally indicated at 1, includes a tapering shank 3 of rectangular cross section. The shank 3 comes to a sharpened point at one end 5 and is divided into a pair of flexible arms 7 at its other end 8. The arms 7 are 'ice rectangular in cross section, their width dimension, that is along the faces 9 being greater than their thickness dimension, as can be seen in FIGURE 3. The arms 7 are normally spaced apart, flaring outwardly from the end of the shank 3, as shown in FIGURE 1. This is referred to as the relaxed condition, but the arms 7 are sufliciently resilient that they can be forced into parallel relation to each other, in which position they form a straight line extension of the shank 3, as shown in FIGURES 2 and 3.

Referring to FIGURE 4, the nails are used to secure a wallboard panel 10 to a wooden frame member 12, e.g. a two-by-four. The panel 10 includes a layer of plaster 14 sandwiched between two sheets 16 and 18 of heavy paper or cardboard. One of the sheets 16 forms an outer layer, the outside surface 17 of which forms the paintable surface of a wall or ceiling.

In use, each of the nails 1 is placed in a stapler or gun 20, a portion of which is shown in phantom outline in FIGURE 2, having a cartridge (not shown) adapted to receive the nails in their relaxed condition. The stapler or gun, which is otherwise conventional, is provided with an ejection aperture 21 which is slightly larger than and has the same configuration as the largest cross section of the shank 3. By forcing the nail 1 through the ejection aperture 21, the arms 7 are forced into parallel relation to each other, that is, to their compressed condition, as shown in FIGURES 2 and 3. The nail 1 is driven into the wallboard panel 10 with sufficient force to embed most of the shank 3 in the frame member 12. As the shank 3 enters the frame member 12, the arms 7 spring apart and their faces 9 compress the plaster 14 in the areas 19 against the inner layer 18 of the panel 10. This holds the panel 10 against the frame member 12.

The hole 22 created in the outer layer 16 of the panel 10 by the passage of the nail 1 is no larger than the largest cross sectional area of the nail when its arms 7 are in their compressed condition. Thus, when painting the outside surface 17 of the panel 10, the hole is painted over, without requiring a filler, or, if a filler is preferred, only a very small area is involved.

It will be appreciated that while the shank 3 and arms 7 of the nail 1 are shown as being rectangular in cross section, the shape of these parts of the nail can be changed without altering either the function or usefulness of the nail. For example, the shank of the nail may be cylindrical with a pointed end, similar to a conventional nail shank, and the arms would then be semi-cylindrical in cross section. However, when used to secure plaster-board panels to a frame member, the outer faces of the arms 7 are preferably flat for contact with a large area of plaster, whereby the nail better serves to hold the panels against the frame member.

I claim:

1. A nail comprising an elongated shank, a sharpened point on one end of said shank, and a pair of flexible arms integral with said shank and forming the other end of the nail, said arms having a relaxed condition in which they flare outwardly from the other end of said shank, said arms being resiliently bendable to a compressed condition in which they together form a substantially straight line extension of said shank.

2. The nail of claim 1 wherein said arms have planar outer faces.

3. The nail of claim 1 wherein said arms are rectangular in cross section.

4. A nail for fastening plaster board comprising a layer of plaster material sandwiched between two layers of board to a frame member, comprising an elongated shank, a sharpened point on one end of said shank, and a pair of flexible arms integral with said shank and forming the other end of the nail, said arms having a relaxed condition in which they flare sharply outwardly from said other end of said shank, said arms being resiliently bendable to a compressed condition in which they together form a substantially straight line extension of said shank, whereby upon driving of the nail into a section of plaster board the nail enters the outer layer of board While in its compressed condition to make only a small hole therein and subsequently automatically spreads out in the plaster material to move towards its relaxed condition.

5. The nail of claim 4, wherein each of said arms has a length at least as great as approximately half the length of the shank.

12/1888 Webster 85l4 12/1940 Warr et a1. 8528 7/1944 Camp 8528 9/1964 Carriker 85-80 10/1965 -Dwyer 8580 1/1968 Modrey 85-80 FOREIGN PATENTS 5/1935 Great Britain.

MARION PARSONS, 111., Primary Examiner 

